Claw is the Treasure Planet of video games.
When the world was getting hyped about computer animation, people stopped going to see hand-drawn animated movies. The novelty of 3D models made audiences ignore Treasure Planet, despite it being a fantastic film.
Similarly, Claw came out in 1997, a year after Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot. The Third Dimension was HYPE, and everyone wanted more. Unfortunately, that meant the gorgeous cartoon style of Claw didn't find a large audience.
(They're also both about pirates and feature a naval Captain who's an anthropomorphic cat.)
Claw filled a void for platformers on the PC, and it did so incredibly well. In the 90s, you pretty much had Commander Keen and a handful of more forgettable Apogee titles to choose from. There were some other obscure, more mediocre attempts, but Keen was the gold standard. Claw, the third game from a fledgling Monolith Productions, was on a whole other level.
While Keen was emulating the 8-bit look of platformers on home consoles, Claw looked more like hand-drawn animation. There were animated cutscenes and loads of speaking characters. Captain Claw himself has a bunch of charming little quips that make him an endearing and memorable protagonist.
The game handles like a dream and the designs ooze charm throughout the entire journey. Challenge areas are dotted across each level with fun bonuses to be found inside. There are plenty of cheats that can be entered at any time for some extra fun, but the game makes a point to let you know that your score will not be saved because you cheated, YOU CHEATER.
The game even featured custom levels, which anyone could make and then submit to the game's site for other players to download, beating Mario Maker to the punch by almost two decades. People are actually still making and uploading them to captainclaw.net!
When anyone uses the phrase "hidden gem", this game deserves to be in the conversation.
MAGIC CLAAAWWW
When the world was getting hyped about computer animation, people stopped going to see hand-drawn animated movies. The novelty of 3D models made audiences ignore Treasure Planet, despite it being a fantastic film.
Similarly, Claw came out in 1997, a year after Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot. The Third Dimension was HYPE, and everyone wanted more. Unfortunately, that meant the gorgeous cartoon style of Claw didn't find a large audience.
(They're also both about pirates and feature a naval Captain who's an anthropomorphic cat.)
Claw filled a void for platformers on the PC, and it did so incredibly well. In the 90s, you pretty much had Commander Keen and a handful of more forgettable Apogee titles to choose from. There were some other obscure, more mediocre attempts, but Keen was the gold standard. Claw, the third game from a fledgling Monolith Productions, was on a whole other level.
While Keen was emulating the 8-bit look of platformers on home consoles, Claw looked more like hand-drawn animation. There were animated cutscenes and loads of speaking characters. Captain Claw himself has a bunch of charming little quips that make him an endearing and memorable protagonist.
The game handles like a dream and the designs ooze charm throughout the entire journey. Challenge areas are dotted across each level with fun bonuses to be found inside. There are plenty of cheats that can be entered at any time for some extra fun, but the game makes a point to let you know that your score will not be saved because you cheated, YOU CHEATER.
The game even featured custom levels, which anyone could make and then submit to the game's site for other players to download, beating Mario Maker to the punch by almost two decades. People are actually still making and uploading them to captainclaw.net!
When anyone uses the phrase "hidden gem", this game deserves to be in the conversation.
MAGIC CLAAAWWW